The San Diego Padres have won two of the first three games of their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but they dropped Wednesday night’s matchup 10-4.
That sets up another opportunity for San Diego to clinch the series when the teams meet in Thursday night’s finale.
Ahead of the matchup, Padres manager Craig Stammen made another lineup change involving superstar Fernando Tatis Jr.
Padres Announce Tatis Jr. Change
Tatis Jr. spent the first two games of the series in the outfield before moving to second base on Wednesday.
Following the loss, Stammen shifted the three-time All-Star back to right field, where he’ll bat leadoff in Thursday night’s series finale.
Padres 8/6
F. Tatis Jr. RF
L. Rengifo LF
M. Machado 3B
T. France 1B
J. Merrill CF
X. Bogaerts SS
G. Sheets DH
F. Fermin C
J. Cronenworth 2BW. Buehler SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 6, 2026
Tatis Jr.’s 2026 Campaign
Tatis Jr. has been one of the most durable players in MLB this season, appearing in 113 of the Padres’ first 115 games.
While he got off to a slow start offensively, the three-time All-Star has put together a strong season at the plate.
Across 443 at-bats, Tatis Jr. is batting .280 with 59 runs, 124 hits, nine home runs and 50 RBIs while slugging .402 and posting a .751 OPS.
Padres Right Now
San Diego enters Thursday with a 59-56 record. After buying at the trade deadline by acquiring starting pitchers Robbie Ray and Casey Mize, the Padres are hoping to make a playoff push over the final 45-plus games of the regular season.
Entering Thursday, San Diego trails the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by 10.0 games but sits just 2.0 games out of a National League Wild Card spot.
San Diego Padres Make Fernando Tatis Jr. Change Before D-Backs Series Finale